When snowboarding in snow powder conditions, the rider must use a riding stance with the majority of weight on the trailing/aft leg and apply an upward pull with the leading foot. This creates a forward-tip-up and back-end down condition that is required to stay “afloat” in the powder while translating forward and particularly downhill. If this “nose-up” condition is lost, the board will nose-dive into the powder, taking the rider down as well. This causes falls, forward flips, and in extreme cases becoming completely submerged in the snow. All these conditions pose danger to the rider. For skis the rider uses a weighted heel pressure to keep the tips up.
In addition to the “powder day” wherein fresh snowfall abounds, this invention can also have practical merit on days where there is not fresh powder. Often tree-wells and other local areas of loose, unpacked snow are scattered throughout snowsport areas. These locations are nearly impossible to identify from the surface, and a skier or snowboarder may inadvertently steer into one. The rider is therefore unprepared and not in a “nose-up stance, and will nose-dive and fall into the loose snow well. This is dangerous and potentially life-threatening.
A modern (current) snowboard or ski has only the bottom surface acting against the snow. These devices are not shaped to create the large leading-end lift, aft-end down forces. These forces are up to the rider to provide.
By use of this invention for skis or snowboards, the act of translating through powder creates a lift force on the leading end and down force on the aft end so as to help stay afloat in powder. The snow wing generates lift when the snow gets deep enough, therefore, the rider is kept afloat in unforeseen loose-snow areas, carrying him safely over and out.
On freshly fallen snow powder days, the use of this invention keeps riders from tiring so quickly and, therefore, makes the rider more in control, and thus safer.